1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, such as a personal computer, a work station or the like, a user-interface control method, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional user interfaces for information processing apparatuses are configured so as to execute processing by selecting a command from a menu, or by selecting an icon from a tool bar.
Such user interfaces can also perform various settings by displaying a plurality of items on a dialog box (window) followed by the user""s input for each item. When there are many setting items on such a dialog box (window), child dialog boxes are opened and displayed from the main dialog box (window) in order to permit the user to see and set more detailed menu of items. In a display method using a dialog box, it is possible to understandably display correlation among setting items within each dialog box.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a conventional menu display using a dialog. A main dialog 300 has a xe2x80x9cmenu 1 . . . xe2x80x9d button 301 and a xe2x80x9cmenu 2 . . . xe2x80x9d button 302.
By depressing the xe2x80x9cmenu 1 . . . xe2x80x9d button 301, a xe2x80x9cmenu 1xe2x80x9d dialog 310 is opened. The dialog 310 has three group boxes, i.e., an xe2x80x9cA-group boxxe2x80x9d 320, a xe2x80x9cB-group boxxe2x80x9d 330, and a xe2x80x9cC-group boxxe2x80x9d 340.
The xe2x80x9cA-group boxxe2x80x9d 320 has two radio button controls 321 for selecting one of setting 1 and setting 2. The xe2x80x9cB-group boxxe2x80x9d 330 has a xe2x80x9ccheck box 3xe2x80x9d 331 and a xe2x80x9clist box 4xe2x80x9d 333 for performing control. The setting for the xe2x80x9ccheck box 3xe2x80x9d 331 includes ON/OFF, and the setting for the xe2x80x9clist box 4xe2x80x9d 333 includes xcex1, xcex2 and xcex3. The xe2x80x9cC-group boxxe2x80x9d 340 has a xe2x80x9cC . . . xe2x80x9d button 341.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the menus shown in FIG. 11. The main dialog 300 has two child dialogs, i.e., a xe2x80x9cmenu 1xe2x80x9d dialog 301A and a xe2x80x9cmenu 2xe2x80x9d dialog 302A.
The xe2x80x9cmenu 1xe2x80x9d dialog 301A has the xe2x80x9cA-group boxxe2x80x9d 320, the xe2x80x9cB-group boxxe2x80x9d 330 and the xe2x80x9cC-group boxxe2x80x9d 340. The xe2x80x9cA-group boxxe2x80x9d 320 has a setting item (radio button control) 321, which is currently set to xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d. The xe2x80x9cB-group boxxe2x80x9d 330 has a setting item (xe2x80x9ccheck box 3xe2x80x9d) 331 and a setting item (xe2x80x9clist box 4xe2x80x9d) 333, which are set to OFF and xe2x80x9cxcex1xe2x80x9d, respectively.
The xe2x80x9cC-group boxxe2x80x9d 340 has the xe2x80x9cC . . . xe2x80x9d button 341. A c-dialog box is present in front of the xe2x80x9cC . . . xe2x80x9d button 341 (the description of the c-dialog box will be omitted).
In the conventional user interfaces, however, when the number of setting items is large, it is necessary to perform an operation of opening/closing several dialogs before reaching a setting dialog (window).
Furthermore, it is not clear in which dialog a specific set item is present. It is also difficult to grasp correlation between dialogs. In addition, it is not clear in which menu hierarchy a setting item is present.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus, a user-interface control method and a storage medium which allow shifting to a setting object, such as a dialog or a window having a specific setting item, by a single operation even if the number of setting items is large.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus, a user-interface control method and a storage medium which can clearly indicate the position of a dialog or a group having a specific setting item.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus, a user-interface control method and a storage medium which can clearly indicate correlation among dialogs.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus, a user-interface control method and a storage medium which can clearly indicate that in which menu hierarchy a setting item is present.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus, a user-interface control method and a storage medium which can dissolve demerits of a method for displaying a dialog without imparing merits thereof.
According to one aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to an information processing apparatus for displaying a menu and setting a setting object developed from the menu. The apparatus includes acquisition means for acquiring a configuration of the menu, block display means for displaying a block menu in which the acquired menu configuration is represented by blocks, and assignment means for assigning a control item included in the displayed block menu.
According to another aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to a user-interface control method for displaying a menu and setting a setting object developed from the menu. The method includes the steps of acquiring a configuration of the menu, displaying a block menu in which the acquired menu configuration is represented by blocks, and assigning a control item included in the displayed block menu.
According to still another aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to a storage medium storing a program in which a menu is displayed and a central processing unit within an information processing apparatus sets a setting object developed from the menu. The program-includes a procedure of acquiring a configuration of the menu, a procedure of displaying a block menu in which the acquired menu configuration is represented by blocks, a procedure of assigning a control item included in the displayed block menu, and a procedure of displaying the setting object by segmenting the assigned control item.
The foregoing objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.